fresh start
by xlexisx
Summary: When an unfortunate accident forces Alexia and her family to leave their home, she starts at a new school with kids, well, more like her. First story ever. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

'Alarms are the bane of my existence.'

She felt it was much too early to be awake. 'What a day it was going to be' she thought as she slammed her fist down on the alarm, silencing it. What a week it had been. Scratch that. What a year it had been. New country, new city, new school; then new state, new town, and another new school.

She couldn't help but feel bad for making her parents move. Again. And for everything that had occurred to induce the move. Again. Shuddering and pushing memories to the back of her mind, she sat up in her oversized bed and stepped down to the thick carpeted floor. It was a nice change from the hardwood floors at their old house along the coast, but the silence of the suburbia outside was deafening. She bumped into the vanity table, still only half-awake and still not used to the arrangement of her new room. Turning around she headed across the room and into her bathroom, shedding pajamas and leaving them in a trail as she stepped into the shower.

15 minutes later, she was out of the shower and standing in front of the foggy mirror. With a slight and nearly undetectable wave of her hand, the mirror had defogged to reveal her now clear reflection. Picking up her blue brush, she began to comb out her long, dark hair as the water seemed to instantly evaporate from the strands, leaving it dry and stick straight, some slight bangs pushed over her left eye. She took the time to observe her closet closely, wondering what kind of impression she might leave on her new peers based just on her look. She was silently thankful for this school's lack of uniforms, and allowed herself to go casual in distressed citizen jeans, a charcoal grey tunic top, and black sandals. Grabbing her houndstooth printed satchel bag and sliding a hair tie around her left wrist next to her light blue bracelet, she exited her room and headed down to the dining room.

"Morning darling," her mother greeted. Her father took a quick moment to peek over his Wall Street Journal and flash a warm smile. Sitting down at their oversized dark oak table, complete with crisp white linen and perfectly matched white and gold trimmed china, she took her usual chair across from her mother and to the left of her father.

"Morning mum, father," she responded. She picked up her water glass and quickly drained it, followed by a glass of orange juice, and started on a second glass of water already placed next to the first. Her mother eyed her vigilantly.

"Would you like something for breakfast?" she asked carefully, "I believe Greta made some toast for you. Greta, could you bring out Alexia's breakfast please?"

Greta swiftly stepped out of the kitchen and placed a plate of toast in front of Alexia before she had time to protest. Along with the toast came two more glasses of water and a knowing wink from who was surely Alexia's closest friend in this house. With a nod from the head of house Greta whisked herself back through the swinging door into the kitchen. Never a fan of breakfast in general, Alexia frowned at the toast but picked it up anyways and took a large bite off the corner. Alexia's father, Henry, folded up his paper and picked up a fork to start on his bacon and eggs, which would have equaled an even larger frown on Alexia if that had been on her own plate.

"Ready for school dear?" her father asked. She sighed and slouched in her chair until her mother gave a stiff cough and she was back to her upright and well postured position.

"I suppose," she answered, "though I do not see why I cannot go to a regular school out here. They don't even teach proper courses at this school. What kind of college am I going to enroll in without basic calculus lessons on my forms?"

"Now darling," her mother, Emma, interjected, "your father and I already agreed that this would be a good place for you to try out. With your incredible abilities you could use a school like this to help you learn how to better…control your skills."

That earned instant quiet on the part of Alexia throughout the rest of breakfast. She finished her toast quickly, all the while draining her last two glasses of water. Picking up her satchel again, she kissed her mother and father goodbye, and exited the dining room. Greta was waiting for her at the front door with an Aquafina bottle and a cheerful smile.

"Don't you dare worry about today doll," she told Alexia and hugged her, "you'll do just fine and they'll all love you. I'm sure you'll have half the boys following you home by the end of the day pretty one."

Alexia gave a slight and sarcastic laugh, showing her doubt at such an occurrence. Greta hugged her toned frame once again and Alexia was out the front door, setting her ipod to Boys Night Out, putting the tiny earpieces in, and heading to the corner to await the bus to Sky High.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: btw, i don't own sky high or any of the characters from the movie. i do own alexis, and her family, and any other little randoms that may pop up. oh, and this is my first story ever, so please don't be too terribly harsh. thank you!

The bus pulled up. Yellow, medium sized, and completely non-descript. She stepped onto the vehicle and the driver arched an eyebrow at her. She gave a slight nod and strode past the four or five students already on the bus and took a seat in the very back. Glancing to the side she caught a long haired boy cast a sidelong glance at her from his book. She spent the next 15 minutes and the next three stops watching houses and streets fly past her window. She only became slightly aware that people were looking at her when she turned back to the front and met the interested stares of three boys, two brown haired and one with ridiculously blonde hair, and two girls, one with red hair and the other with black and purple locks. Pulling the headphones from her ears, the red haired girl repeated herself.

"You're new, aren't you?" she asked Alexia, a warm smile on her face. Alexia only slightly smiled and gave a quick nod.

"Yes I am," she replied, "Just enrolling today."

"Oh man," the blonde haired boy exclaimed at her accent, "where are you from?"

"Um," Alexia mumbled, "England. London specifically. I've been in California for the last year or so though. Rather hoped I'd dropped most of it."

"I'm Layla," the red haired girl introduced herself, holding out her hand which Alexia shook quickly before pulling back to herself and offering a quick 'Alexia' in response before Layla continued, "And this is Will, Zach, Mag-"

Layla was cut off by the emergence of seatbelts and handlebars and the bus taking a sudden swan dive off of an unfinished freeway overpass. Alexia let out a quick yelp, but noticed that none of the other students were looking frightened and rather used to the whole situation of the bus sprouting wings and a jet engine out of it's bottom side. Keeping her mouth shut for the rest of the flight, she was somewhat amazed to see a floating school approaching swiftly from the distance. The bus landed with a slight jolt and the seatbelts and handlebars disappeared back to wherever they came from. Alexia stood up on slightly shaky legs, tightly grasping her bag. Layla smiled her motherly smile at Alexia, while Magenta and the others gave small smirks.

"Everyone is surprised the first trip," Layla said, "but you'll get used to it soon. Will and I will show you to the office."

Layla and Will said quick goodbyes to the other three as well as, though Alexia found it odd, the quiet long haired boy who had his nose in the book the entire ride. He glanced up at Alexia once again and she got a better look at his dark and unreadable eyes. She caught that his name was Warren, and the shorter brown haired boy was named Ethan.

Heading towards the front of the school, Alexia looked around, hiding her amazement that there were so many people around her that were, well, just like her. Her age, going to school like normal kids, but completely different from almost the entire population of the world. All around the front lawn of the campus, kids were glowing, stretching, floating, flying, firing, icing, and speeding past each other. Entering the school, it looked just like the other average high schools that Alexia had attended, and the students for the most part looked like the other completely average students she had gone to school with, but they were different. Different like her. Vaguely Alexia was aware that Will was talking to her about something.

"We're juniors this year," he said confidently, "Layla, Zach, Mag, and Ethan are all in sidekick classes; warren and I are both in hero classes, but he's a senior so we don't have many courses together. What grade are you?"

"I'll be a third year I think," Alexia said, thinking for a moment. She was transferring nearly two weeks into the first session and into a completely different curriculum. 'What if she had to start back at the beginning with all the little first years?' she thought worriedly.

They had stopped in front of a large wooden door with the words 'Principal Powers' in shiny brass lettering across the front.

"My stop then?" she asked a nodding Will and Layla. "Well, thank you then. Perhaps I'll see you both later?"

"Of course you will," Layla exclaimed sweetly, "We'll sit together at lunch no matter which classes you're assigned. Good luck with power placement!"

Layla and Will were off down the hall, leaving a confused Alexia muttering and wondering what power placement was. Turning back to the door, she gave it a heavy knock and waited for a faint 'come in' from the other side before turning the handle.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: again, don't own any of the sky high characters, only my own. and a lovely thanks to my reviewer! sdfreek-you gave me the courage to actually post another chapter!

"Alexia Allen. Welcome to Sky High."

The woman standing behind the large maple desk was well dressed, dark haired, smiling, and still able to examine Alexia closer than she would have liked. She gestured to the chair in front of her and Alexia quietly took a seat in the high backed chair. Principal Powers sat down in the mahogany colored chair and opened the thick file on top of the desk.

"Well Ms. Allen," she started, "I'd like to just say what a joy it is to have a member of such an upstanding family as your own attend Sky High. Your g.p.a. at your former schools is nothing short of outstanding. It is your personal records however, that leave slight concern."

Powers gave Alexia a knowing look and then switched back to her warm and knowing smile before Alexia could let out so much as a squeak in her own defense.

"Let's consider this a fresh start for you Ms. Allen," Powers stated confidently, shutting the folder in front of her, "We'll let what has passed pass. I believe that now that you are in a setting surrounded by peers who are more at even with your abilities, such previous incidents can be avoided. But I also must warn you that you need to take extra care to keep your powers in check. A repeat such as that would most certainly lead to extreme difficulties on both our parts. You may head down to the gymnasium. Coach Boomer is waiting to place you with your classes. Good luck Ms. Allen."

Alexia quickly stood from her chair and headed towards the door, taking a small pause to thank Principal Powers before stepping outside into the now deserted halls. Looking up and down the halls, Alexia realized she had no idea where the gym was. Since she could only go left or right, and had come from the left, she took a chance and headed down the right side of the hallway and around a few corners through empty hallways. After wandering about for a few minutes, she nearly walked past the two large double doors with "GYMNASIUM" labeled above them. Without a second thought she walked through them and into total chaos as something or someone ran right in front of her at an amazing speed, the pull of the air following him or her turning Alexia around and knocking her to the ground. She felt the same whoosh of air go past her again, and looked up to see a fireball hurtling towards her general direction.

Without thinking of where the fireball was actually headed, she reacted quickly and on instinct. In a second it was over. Her right arm outstretched, her hand palmed out facing the fire coming towards her. Her body reacted on it's own as the water that flowed in her veins with her blood separated itself from the hemoglobin, and flowed through to her outstretched hand, forcing it's way through the pores of the skin on her palm and forming a shapeless mass of water equal in size to that of the fireball. With a tiny and automatic flick of her wrist the water flew out from her hand and collided with the fireball barely a few feet in front of her, overtaking it and dissolving both fire and water with a hiss and a few extra drops of water as steam floated away from the collision.

Dropping her arm and picking herself up of the floor, Alexia looked up to meet the surprised stares of the 30 or so seniors wondering who this stranger was, and a tall man wearing a red polo that she could only assume was Coach Boomer.

'I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable now' she thought as she stood silent and glancing around at the staring eyes. As the surprised students began to whisper at each other Alexia bent down to pick up her bag. 'Yes, very uncomfortable…'


	4. Chapter 4

Coach Boomer walked up to Alexia, crossing his arms and taking a strong stance in front of her.

"Is there a reason you're disturbing my class?" he asked loudly. Some of the other students began to whisper to each other, wondering aloud and to each other who the strange new girl was.

"Um...apologies sir," Alexia said quietly, "Principal Powers sent me here for power placement."

Coach Boomer glared at her for another second, then looked down at his clipboard.

"You must be Ms. Allen then," he said, and looked back up at her. She took a quick gulp and nodded in agreement. "You're late."

"I'm terribly sorry sir," Alexia began, "I lost my way trying to find your gymnasium and-"

"Just follow me," he said, cutting off her apology, and turning back to the rest of the class, "Continue capture the flag! James! You'll be reffing this round until I finish with this one."

Slowly the other students began to shuffle back to their places as Alexia followed Coach Boomer to the opposite end of the gym. A platform began to rise out of the floor at their destination, leaving a large oval shaped stage a few feet above the original gym floor. Alexia walked up the stairs leading to the top of the platform, standing on the same level as Coach Boomer. Presuming some sort of physical activity was going to ensue, Alexia used the hair tie around her wrist to pull her hair back into a ponytail. The game of capture the flag was going quietly, and looking around with large green eyes she was unsurprised to see most of the students playing slowly, more interested in what was going to happen on her end of the gym. They seemed to be more expectant of what was waiting at the top of the platform than she was. Everything around her seemed to pause as she caught the eyes of the same boy from the bus, Layla and the other's friend. She thought they said his name was Warren.

"So how strong is this water power of yours?" Coach Boomer asked Alexia, prompting her to look back around to the task that was ahead of her.

"Well, I'm not quite sure what you mean by strong…" Alexia started and then trailed off. Coach Boomer produced a small remote-like device with several buttons on it before yelling "Car" and pushing the ominous looking red button. Alexia barely had time to glance upward before seeing the car hurtling towards her from above.

The process began again. Alexia separated water from blood and controlled it against the air, this time aiming at the car falling towards her.

A thin layer of water engulfed the car, and Alexia balanced it against the air, slowing the fall significantly, so much so that it had almost stopped completely. The concentration visible on her face, Alexia's mind focused on the water molecules individually. Slowing them, they became cold, hard, and frozen, until they completely stopped, setting the temperature to nearly -22 degrees Celsius.

A sharp pain began to form between her temples, and Alexia's balance faltered. The speed of the falling car began to increase again. Her concentration fell apart completely and she fell back as the car's weight brought it down to the ground and shattered into hundreds of pieces. Coach boomer used his clipboard to shield his face from the flying debris, and Alexia held up her arm. The silence following the loud crash was deafening, and the other students slowly began to break into whispers across the gym.

"Allen!" Coach Boomer said, "Hero!"

'What the bloody hell does that mean' Alexia wondered inwardly, standing up and brushing pieces of metal off of her jeans. The frozen debris was smoking against the air behind her as Alexia followed Coach Boomer down the stairs of the platform. He walked quickly across the gym towards the double doors she had entered through, and alexia had to hurry to keep up with him. The coach turned to face her so abruptly that she nearly ran into him. He shoved a piece of paper in her face, and she stared at it with a bewildered expression.

"Your schedule," Coach Boomer stated, as if talking to a three-year-old. Alexia took it from him carefully and barely glanced at it before the coach began to speak again, but this time directed at his students. "I need someone to show Allen to her next class. She'll be disruptive enough without wandering the school for a half hour."

A few of the senior girls tittered and whispered behind their hands to each other, more than likely about her. She disliked being eyed at by the older students like some kind of fresh meat.

"I can show her around."

Alexia glanced around for the owner of the voice, and caught the hazel eyes of one of the most attractive boys she'd ever seen. Tall (at least six feet), broad-shouldered (the body type of someone who was familiar with sports), sandy-blonde hair and lightly tanned skin. He reminded her more of the boys back on the lower west coast, the boys she had spent the last year hanging around and going to school with.

"Ok Barton," Coach Boomer said, taking a tone that seemed more like he had chosen the boy rather than volunteering himself, "But I want you back here in 10 minutes. Show her to the classroom and then get back here. IMMEDIATELY!"

The last word blew Alexia's ponytail into her face, as the wind Coach Boomer's shouting voice produced whipped around the gym. The boy walked to the door and smiled at Alexia, showing the kind of shiny white and perfect teeth you see in commercials for toothpaste, before pushing the door open and motioning for Alexia to go out ahead of him. Adjusting her bag and pulling the tie out of her hair as she went, Alexia walked out the door ahead of the boy and stood in the hallway, completely confused to what direction she had even originally come from. Running her hand through her hair with her free hand, she spun around quickly and nearly knocked into her new tour guide. She gave him a tiny half smile, something she tended to do in every situation.

"So…" he started, and actually looked as nervous as she felt on the inside. "Where are we off to?"

"Science," Alexia answered after a quick glance at her new schedule, "Lab 3."

"Alright then," he said, looking to the left then the right, and then shooting Alexia a small smile, he beckoned for her to follow him towards the right. They walked in silence for a few seconds before they both tried to speak at the same time. Taking a moment to laugh it off, Alexia let the boy speak first. "So Allen, is that your surname? Or do you go by something else? Boomer has a tendency to call everyone by their last name or an insult."

"It's Alexia," she said with a smile, "So Barton isn't just a very original first name then?"

"Nope. It's Hunter."

"Still a bit different than the average."

"Yeah, I guess so. I take that you're not from around here Alexia."

"London, by way of California for the last year or so. I suppose it was the accent that tipped that one off? Really most of it's gone away by now."

"Don't let it. I like it."

Alexia couldn't help but let a small smile slip as she cast her eyes to the ground. The two teenagers continued to chat, mostly about music (Alexia was surprised that Hunter had a musical taste somewhat similar to her own) and the differences between California schools and Sky High. She looked up and around curiously at their familiar surroundings.

"Hunter," she said confusedly, "haven't we been down this hallway already?"

"Yah," he replied, smiling and almost blushing, "I didn't want to miss the opportunity to ditch class with the new girl. Medulla's classroom is right over here."

"I ought not to keep you out of class," she said and followed him to the laboratory door, "According to Coach Boomer I've been enough of a distraction already."

"You're the best distraction I've had all year Alexia," Hunter said with a smile and a turn, walking back down the hallway and turning the first corner out of Alexia's sight. Once again Hunter had made Alexia smile, and she turned to face whatever teacher and class might be on the other side of the classroom door with the sense that she might do quite well in this school.


End file.
